a fresh stand

Saturday, December 26, 2015

1.Song Exploder - The Magnetic Fields
In each episode, Hrishikesh Hirway thoroughly explores the creation of a
single song. Here, he talks with Stephin Merritt about his song,
"Andrew in Drag." This episode makes me want to listen to every episode
of Song Exploder and every song that Stephin Merritt has written, so,
it's at the top of the list.

3. Home of the Brave - The End of the World
I just uncovered Home of the Brave, but the Scott Carrier episodes of
This American Life are some of my favorites. This episode was my entry
point to the series and I'm so excited. It's lyrical and indulgent and
moving and inspiring and makes me want to hear just about everything
that Scott Carrier has done/is doing/will do.

4. Serial - Dustwun
I loved season one of Serial (see number 5 on this list), but since it
ended and a thousand other podcasts emerged that are doing in-depth
crime stories, I was looking forward to the Serial team investigating a
bigger inter/national story. In this episode, we're introduced to the
case of Bowe Bergdahl, the PFC who walked off a base in Afghanistan,
initiating an international saga that we're still sorting out. Only two
eps are out for season 2 so far, but it's so so good.

5. Undisclosed - CrimeStoppers
Serial kicked off the modern podcast obsession. Undisclosed picks up
where Serial left off and continues examining the case against Adnan
Syed for the murder of Hae Min Lee. They have a very public bias - there
was not enough evidence that Adnan did it for a conviction (and Adnan
didn't do it). With three lawyer-hosts, they get much more into the
legal issues in the case, but this episode details some seemingly very
relevant facts that never made it into Serial.

6. The Adventure Zone - Moonlighting, Chapter One
Three podcasting brothers and their father play D&D. This is the
first ep where they really step out of the pre-made D&D module and
into a story of their own. Go back and start from the beginning if you
want the full story, but it's ok to just jump in with this exposition
heavy episode. The D&D session is fun, and gets more inventive as it
goes on, but the reason you listen is the interplay between the family
members.

7. The Cephalopodcast - The Game of Monopoly
The Cephalopodcast is a podcast made by a giant squid, the Giant
Squidstravaganza. So, that's what you're getting into. You may not want
to start here to get to know Mr. Squidstravaganza a little better, but
if you want an entertaining critique of the modern economic era as seen
through the (GIANT) eyes of a giant squid, start here. and if that
doesn't convince you, listen only for still-stuck-in-my-head squid
version of the Coca-Cola jingle.

8. Reply All - Hack the Police
What happens if you hack the police? Find out here. Reply All is a
podcast about the Internet, and since the internet is involved with
pretty much everything, it's really a podcast about pretty much
everything.

9. Song Exploder - The Microphones
"I Want Wind to Blow" is one of my favorite songs. It stands in the
place of a whole era of my life. Here, we learn more about the
background of the song, which just makes me love it more. this is also
the ep that kicked off my Song Exploder obsession.

10. Limetown - What We Know (episode 1)
Limetown is a fictional podcast, playing with the podcast genre. This
pilot ep sucks you in and, although the rest of the first season is
uneven, it can be fun (and scary, and that's ok).